The blast occurred in the town of Yakhroma, northwards from the capital. The building of the mosque was seriously damaged, a senior Muslim cleric told IslamNews news agency. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the explosion. Investigation into the attack has been launched.
A mosque employee told the agency that the blast had entirely destroyed the main entrance, windows were broken. "Judging by the damage inflicted the explosive device was much more powerful than a grenade," he said.
The mosque in Yakhroma was raised five years ago and belongs to the spiritual Muslim council for western Russia, led by the country's top cleric Ravil Gainutdin. The building is formally a prayer house, as the local government rejected the council's application to register it as a mosque, Gazeta.Ru reported.
Ironically, the attack occurred on the day religious leaders from around the globe convened in the Russian capital for a world religious summit to address global challenges ahead of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg
Agencies
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